


The Man In The Red Flannel Shirt

by Astre_Red



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:21:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27575780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astre_Red/pseuds/Astre_Red
Summary: There's a man, in Gravity Falls. As far as anyone can remember, he has always been there.Some talked to him.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 72





	1. Stanley Pines

Before even talking to him, Stanley had seen the man hanging around in town.

Oh, he didn't notice anything strange about him at first. It's just one of these things that stay in your mind once you see them, like that strange flower or the broken stop sign, or that weird-looking shop or whatever. Besides, despite what many claimed, Stan did need to go in town to buy -or rob, really- things, so of course he noticed things.

The man, who looked to be around thirty, was pretty normal in appearance. His hair was a reddish brown, and he was always wearing a red flannel shirt, no matter how hot or how cold the weather was. In hindsight, that was probably the first sign.

The second was that no one seemed to know his name. It may seem like a normal thing, but in a small town like Gravity Falls, everyone knew each other, whether you liked it or not. And everyone had seen that man walking in town, even talked to him, and yet no one knew his name, or where he lived, or anything like that.

After thinking about it, Stanley decided to stay away and didn't do anything. That man -kid in his eyes- wasn't doing any harm, and it wasn't his business anyway. He knew better than to poke a sleeping bear. And he had other, more important things to do.

And so the man continued to walk around town, and Stanley never interacted with him. The man popped up for months or even years and disappeared for the same length of time, and visited almost every place in Gravity Falls. But he never went to the Mystery Shack.

But then Stanley got a call from his nephew, asking to take care of his kids for the summer, and he reluctantly said yes. He didn't like the idea of kids in his shop, near the portal, but this was family and Stanley wouldn't turn them away.

The day before Dipper and Mabel's arrival, the man came to visit.

It was late, near the closing hour, when the bell rang and the man stepped into the shop with a smile. Stanley stared for a second before smiling as widely as he could, hidding his shock .

“Welcome, customer! What can I do for you?”

The man in the red flannel shirt hummed, before shrugging and smiled.

“Just seeing how things are, I guess.”

There was _something_ in his voice, something familiar in so many ways and yet so different from everything he knew. It bothered him, but Stanley acted as normal as he could, played the part of the conman under the younger man's amused eyes.

It went on for an hour before his client spoke softly. They were at the Mystery Shack's entrance when he said, still smiling.

“Things are about to change, you know?”

He was looking right at Stanley, eyes bright, and the conman found himself at loss of what to say. The way the man was looking at him felt strange, but more so was the pride in these brown eyes. For the first time in thirty years, Stanley felt exposed, like all his secrets were as clear as daylight.

“What?” he replied numbly, and the man's smile widened. He stepped out of the shack and glanced back at him.

“It's going to be okay.” he said, and Stanley felt something in his eyes burn, “You don't have to worry.”

Stanley wondered what he was talking about, the kids, the portal or his life in general, but the man was already walking away, waving at him from the trees. He wasn't going in the town's direction, but somehow it wasn't surprising.

“Goodbye, Stanley.”

He was gone before he could yell at him. Numbly, Stanley turned towards the shack. He stayed still for a long moment, breathing, and sighed.

_It's going to be okay._

He smiled.

(Maybe this town wasn't so bad, after all.)


	2. Jesus "Soos" Alzamirano Ramirez

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While working at Greacy's Diner, Soos made a strange encounter.

After the disaster with Mr Pines' mind and the Mystery Shack, Soos invited the Pines Family to stay with him for a bit. He could feel everyone's tension and sadness, but Soos wasn't good with those kind of things, and he himself was feeling pretty down. He loved his job, and the Mystery Shack, and now it was lost, gone in a blink, as were the twins.

But Abuelita didn't let him sulk and forced him to take a job at Greacy's Diner despite his protests.

“You have to think about yourself, too.” she had said, staring in his eyes, “They'll call when they need you.”

So now Soos was cleaning and cooking with Lazy Susan. The lady was kind though airheaded -but who wasn't in Gravity Falls?- and it was good and all, but it wasn't like the Mystery Shack. It didn't feel his.

He tried not to show his disappointment and greeted customers with a smile. It was one of the first things that Mr Pines taught him, and it was really useful in any situations.

When the man in the red flannel shirt entered and sat at a table, he didn't pay him much attention beyond thinking _oh, cool shirt_. It was just one of the townfolks, and he seemed familiar, so he had to be an inhabitant. What else could he be?

When he went to take his order, the man looked at him and smiled. It was a weird smile, as it seemed warmer than a smile you give to a stranger, but Soos didn't really care.

“What can I do for you, dude?” he asked, and hoped he seemed professional enough. Working as a waiter was harder than working as a handyman.

“Pancakes and water, please.” the man said, still smiling, and Soos blinked. There was _something_ in his voice. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Instead he nodded and went to fetch him his order. Lots of people had similar voices, so it wasn't so strange to hear one which sounded familiar.

There wasn't a lot of people in the diner, so it didn't take long to come back. Soos put the plate in front of the man, careful not to spill it like he had done the first time he served customers.

Just as he was about to go back to the kitchen, the man called him with a soft voice.

“Are you okay? You look worried.”

Soos blinked, taken aback, because even if he really was worried, his poker face was good. He worked under Mr Pines for years, and while he sometimes had troubles, he always did his best not to let his feelings show with clients. But this man was staring at him with a knowing look, and Soos felt like he was looking at him with X-rayons, seeing everything.

In a town like this, it wouldn't be that surprising.

“Nah, don't worry about it.” he eventually said, “Just thinking about old stuff.”

“Like your old job?” the man said. When he saw Soos' surprised and slightly suspicious look, he laughed, “Everyone knows you work here. Or worked, I guess.”

It was true that everyone knew about it, but he still felt surprised without knowing why.

“Well, yeah.” he slowly answered, “It was a great job.”

“Is that so?” the man whispered. He looked proud, which didn't make any sense, and Soos wondered what Dipper would say if he was in his place.

The thought made him grimace, and the man's eyes narrowed.

“You know,” he said, matter of fact, “I heard they're looking for a bus driver. There aren't a lot since no one ever goes out of town. Or in town.”

He smiled, and got up before Soos could say anything.

“Well, I'm off then. Thanks for the pancakes, Soos!”

He was gone before Soos had time to answer.

(Later, when the Mystery Shack was back in business, Soos wondered if he should tell Dipper, or anyone, about that weird guy who somehow knew about Dipper and Mabel's bus. In the end, he decided not to. Some myteries were better left alone.)

(Besides, that probably-werewolf mailman was much more interesting.)


	3. Fiddleford H. McGucket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the midst of despair, someone came to talk to the old man in the junkyard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during "Not What He Seems".

Fiddleford McGucket was worried sick.

He couldn't help it. He had started worrying almost immediately after discovering the truth behind his memory loss - _his fault, it was his fault, of course, it seemed so obvious now that he could see_ \- and now he didn't know what to do.

Something was coming, something big, and no one listened. No one ever did.

He had tried, at the Northwest Mansion, to warn Dipper, but he hadn't listened either even though he knew about him, about this town's secrets, about that ~~muse liar snappy dresser~~ _thing_.

So now gravity was falling, and Fiddleford was running. It seemed to be the only thing he was good at.

He gritted his teeth and forced his racoon-wife inside his bag alongside his computer. He had everything in it, and he needed to get out, far away from this cursed town. Far away from this thing.

But was it even useful, when the Apocalypse was coming?

He was almost out of the junkyard when another burst of energy rippled through the town. Fiddleford yelped and let go of his bag to grab a pole. He felt his feet leave the ground and held on tighter.

_It's happening_ , he thought desperately, _it's happening!_

He clenched his eyes shut as his whole body left the ground, floating in the air as if he was underwater, hands still clasped around the pole so hard it hurt.

He didn't know how long it lasted -a second maybe, or perhaps a minute- but gravity brutally came back, and Fiddleford fell down hard on the ground, feeling his arms dug into the dirt and his hat fall off. His ribs hurt -bruised but not broken- and he hissed throught the pain, suddenly reminded of his age.

_It's happening_ , he thought again, resigned, _and I can't escape. I will never escape._

Did he really want to? After what happened last time, to him ~~and his friend~~.

But what _could_ he do? He was nothing but a deranged old man. ~~What would Ford think?~~

Fiddleford sat up and swallowed a sob.

“Are you okay?”

The old man yelped and hastily got up.

A young man was staring at him, eyebrows furrowed with worry. He looked young, around Tate's age maybe, and he was wearing a red flannel shirt with a blue jean. He didn't seem bothered by Fiddleford's pale face or clothes or everything really. He was standing in front of him as if gravity hadn't disappeared only minutes ago. As if nothing but making sure the old man was okay mattered.

Fiddleford blinked, and realized with surprise that his racing heart was calming. His hands weren't shaking, and panic was slowly leaving his agitated mind.

“I'm fine.” he managed to say, but his voice was shaking.

The young man frowned.

“You don't look fine.” he said, and his voice sounded strange, disturbing in its normality. It sounded like a normal voice, but Fiddleford felt like it shouldn't sound this normal. There was something in this voice he couldn't catch, couldn't understand no matter how hard he tried.

He wasn't sure he wanted to.

“I'm leaving.” he said defiantly without knowing why. The young man tilted his head, looking right at him, and Fiddleford felt ashamed.

“Alright.” the young man answered, and Fiddleford startled.

“You're not going ta stop me?” he couldn't help but ask. He had expected something, not really sure of what, but _something_. The young man smiled.

“Should I?” he asked right back, and Fiddleford blinked. The young man hummed and glanced at the sky. Night was falling, the apocalypse was coming, and they were still standing in the junkyard like nothing else mattered in the whole world.

“I think,” he said, eyes gleaming, “that you should choose what you want to do, and no one else. I won't stop you. It's your decision.”

_My decision_ , Fiddleford thought, heart sinking. The last big decision he took had destroyed his life. This town had destroyed his life. Leaving seemed to be the best thing he could do. It would be the easy thing to do.

Erasing his memories had been easy, too. It had seemed like the best thing he could do, all those years ago. And where did that leave him?

Fiddleford took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and chose.

The young man smiled. He seemed incredibly proud, but there was sadness in his eyes. Not pity- but sadness.

He glanced around and turned away. Fiddleford watched him go, but didn't follow. Instead he grabbed his bag and started to walk back home. Once he was a few feet away, he suddenly turned back and called him.

“What are you?!” he yelled through the junkyard. The young man paused, but didn't look back. A whisper echoed through the night, barely heard.

“A friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You ever wondered why McGucket didn't leave in Not What He Seems? Me too!
> 
> I hope you liked it! Tell me in the comments


	4. Gnomes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While walking through the woods, Jeff made an encounter.

Creatures of Gravity Falls tended to keep to themselves.

It had been that way for a long time, even before humans came to live near the woods. Even between them, they tended to stick to their families and didn’t really interact with others. The Gnomes stayed far away from the fairies, and the fairies did the same; the Hide-Behind was always alone, no one really knew about the Invisible Wizard and so on.

There wasn’t any particular reason for this. They just didn’t like to mix and were happy to stay away from each other. They didn’t hate each other -though the unicorns managed to gain everyone’s ire- and they even saw each other sometimes, but that was it. Creatures didn’t really mix.

But despite this, there was something they all knew and could agree on : it was the Man In The Red Flannel Shirt.

It was this strange being who wandered the woods and the town alike with a smile on his face, always wearing the same shirt no matter the weather.

No one knew exactly when he appeared or what he was. But they could all agree that despite looking like one, he probably wasn’t human, and that he seemed old. Actually, he was probably older than all creatures of the woods. It was as if he had existed for as long as Gravity Falls itself. It was puzzling, and quite intriguing.

But they never went out of their way to talk to the being. As long as he didn’t bother them, it didn’t matter. Besides, this man was a part of Gravity Falls, and it felt wrong to say anything about him.

Jeff only talked to him once.

It was a rainy day. It wasn’t special or anything, but gnomes hated rain almost as much as they hated liars. So he was a bit in a fool mood when he walked through the woods to get back home after stealing from the humans.

Walking was long. He knew the way of course, but he was alone and little and it was taking time. Jeff was tired, and his Queen had died not long before. He didn’t feel like hurrying despite the weather.

After a while, a voice called him out, almost making him drop the pie carefully held in his arms.

“Do you need help?”

Jeff looked up and kind brown eyes looked down.

The Man In The Red Flannel Shirt seemed pretty normal  at first glance . Had he been human, Jeff would probably have been fooled. But he was a gnome, and he could  sense the other’s feeling of otherworldly, like he didn’t belong there, even among the abnormal. Like he was so much more than that.

“Well?” the being asked again, and Jeff realized he’d been staring for too long.

“Are you going to steal my pie?” he blurted out, eyes narrowed, but the being laughed.

“I don’t need it, don’t worry.”

Jeff sent him a suspicious glance -who didn’t need a pie, after all?- but slowly nodded. To his surprise, the being crouched down in front of him. He smiled upon seeing the gnome’s surprise.

“May I?” he asked, and Jeff reluctantly nodded.

The being picked him up with ease, and Jeff’s grip tightened around the pie.  If the being noticed, he didn’t say anything.

It was starting to rain heavily, but Jeff felt strangely appeased. He didn’t talk during the walk towards home, and neither did the other. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, and that should have worried  the gnome more than that, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

H e didn’t notice they were almost here until a cry made him look  down .

“Shmebulock!”

“Hey!” he called, and slipped out of the being’s grasp. The grayhaired other gnome ran toward him, sending a cautious glance at the man, but didn’t stop until they were in front of each other.

The being looked at them with a fond smile, seeming suddenly much bigger now that Jeff wasn’t in his arms anymore.

“Shmebulock.” Shmebulock said again, and to Jeff’s surprise the man laughed.

“Sure.” he said, and Jeff sent him and incredulous glance.

“You can _understand_ him?” he asked, and the man shrugged.

“I guess.” he said, but didn’t elaborate.

And then Jeff blinked and he was gone.

He stared at the spot where he was for a long time, before whispering to Shmebulock.

“What a weird guy.”

“Shmebulock.” Shmebulock seemed to agree.

And then Jeff noticed something much more important.

“HE STOLE OUR PIE!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost at the end. Did you like it? The last one will be Bill...

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! It will be abut the characters Alex Hirsch voiced, and how he interacts with them. I hope you'll like it


End file.
